


A False King and the Fallen Star

by FlusForest



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Dancing, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 9,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlusForest/pseuds/FlusForest
Summary: Viravos drabbles ranging from 100-1000 words each. Part of a 100 theme challenge I made earlier in the year. Will range from General Audiences to Mature. Additional tags to be added.
Relationships: Aaravos/Viren (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	1. Dance

“Dance with me.”

They had been gazing out at the Moon Nexus, a comfortable silence washing over them as the stars twinkled and swirled lazily in the lake. Viren almost jumped at the sound of Aaravos’s voice, rumbling lowly in his chest. His cheeks sparkled more vibrantly and pointed ears flicked, waiting on a response. His hands twitched at his sides, four digits tapping gently at the fabric of his robes.

“Um...”

A hand came up from Aaravos’s side and Viren took it, the taller shivering at the contact. He noticed no matter what kind of touch it was, Aaravos always had some sort of reaction to it. Although, now that Viren thought of it, he’d react no matter what after being in isolation for so many years.

“Now just follow my lead.”

Fingers intertwined in one hand, Aaravos’s other hand rested comfortably at the small of Viren’s back. The mage couldn’t help the blush that dusted his cheeks as he was pulled closer, breath ghosting at star speckled skin. The smell of the other’s musk filled his nostrils and he found himself less anxious, and more excited over such a silly little thing as dancing, this being something that they have done many times before. Aaravos always insisted on leading, telling Viren he to know how to move properly, with grace and authority if he was to be the King of Katolis, or rather, King of Xadia. He had his own retort, saying that he should be the one to lead their movements, but was always answered with the rumbling of the elf’s laugh, which always stopped his bickering, only quiet grumbles before he started to enjoy himself.

Aaravos was humming a familiar tune, possibly something from his time before his imprisonment as he practically glided his feet across the stone ground, Viren stumbling slightly at first, earning a displeased tick in response. 

“How clumsy,” Aaravos twirled Viren and dipped him low, a breath away from pouting lips. “Surely after all this practice you could keep up with me?”

“Y-you move too fast!” 

Viren barked out a laugh when Aaravos kissed his cheek and nuzzled into the warmth of his skin. He felt a swarm of pleasant emotions when he was pulled back up, their motions more in sync, starting off slow but becoming faster as each twirl and twist they took. Aaravos’s cheeks were shimmering as bright as the stars in the sky, a pleasant pink mixing in beautifully with his midnight blue skin. His golden eyes glittered with mirth, and kissable lips pulled up into a soft smile. 

“You’re breathtaking.”

Viren couldn’t help but say it, it was as true as it had been the countless times said before. He grinned as point ears flickered happily, the humming had stopped long ago, and now it seemed there was music playing softly, surrounding them in a blanket of melody. The very familiar tune taking on life, picking up pace as Aaravos spun them around, both laughing loudly as they began to feel dizzy. 

“And you’re wonderful.”

The spinning stopped as soon as it began, the melody taking a slowly pitch, both swaying lazily, eyes half lidded, gazing into each other with such desire, Viren found himself cupping a star speckled cheek, caressing skin smoother and soften than the finest silks with the pad of his thumb. Aaravos leaned down and captured his lips in his own, a pleased purr vibrating in his chest. Markings shining brightly, he brought his own hands up to cup at Viren’s face, mimicking his actions, their dancing coming to a complete stop. 

They stayed like this for only a moment, kiss deepening as Viren found his hands in a pool of silver locks, tugging Aaravos down lower to meet his hight, lips pulling away to kiss at a pointed ear, grinning at its twitching and the elf laughing lightly at the ticklish sensation. They were content, holding each other, hands wandering to shoulders and down backs, caresses gentle enough to put to sleep.

They made each other feel safe, content and wanted. Times like these made them believe they were the only two left in the world, and if that was to be the case, they wouldn’t complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listens to Kingdom Dance for 2 hours


	2. Home

A familiar rune was drawn in the air, lips murmuring a spell that had been said thousands of times, revealing in the deep woods a cabin, nestled comfortably in the thickness of the trees and overgrown vegetation that most definitely had hundreds of years to grow. How it was still standing was a shock, but here it was, uncovered for the first time.

The cabin was small, comfortable for one or two being to live in. The architecture was a bit worse for ware, the roof had some holes in it, windows broken, vines over growing up the sides of the damaged logs. To the side what looked to be a garden lay, begging to be tended to. At one point, this home was beautiful, many beings passing through, happy times with laughter, a devastating situation that ended with abandonment. 

“This was your home?”

“For many years, this was my most comfortable space. And it was ripped from me for the past few centuries.”

The bite in Aaravos’s voice was all Viren needed. He could feel the hurt that was buried deep inside of him, the annoyance that he was away from here for many, many years, the longing of being inside this place he had made so familiar and warm. Viren swallowed at the bitterness that rose in his throat and let it settle thickly in his stomach. 

He wanted to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder, but Aaravos brushed past him, going right to the front door and tracing the patterns of the wooden door, hissing in mild irritation as it splintered and dug into his skin. He had to force the door open, it snapping off its hinges, and he pushed it to the side, letting it noisily fall to the dirty floor of the living space.

Viren tentatively followed suit, tip toeing into the space, wrinkling his nose at the amount of dust the door pulled up from falling. The area was bigger than he had anticipated, a large fireplace immediately to their right, a couch that of not for the year of decay would have been a very comfortable piece of furniture to lay on, once plush cushions now nonexistent from insect and other creatures damages. The dining room table took up the right corner of the room, the kitchen small, old cups and plates long forgotten with petrified crumbs of food, an old book ruined by rainfall sitting opened, resting on the middle of the table. There was a door in front of them, no doubt the bedroom. 

Silently, Aaravos pushed forward, his body on autopilot, mind screaming at him to stop what he was doing and just leave this place all together, to destroy it, destroy everything he worked for, destroy all his memories that began to feel muddled. 

He didn’t bother to even try to open the door, settling for ripping it off it’s hinges, making Viren jump at the sound of cracking wood. This was carelessly tossed to the side, Aaravos balling his hands into fists, standing in the doorway, blood running cold at the view before him. Viren found himself standing besides him, hand grabbing at a shaking one, undoing it from its fist and holding on tightly.

“I never realized...”

“You didn’t have to,” Aaravos sighed and squeezed Viren’s hand, breath shaky, but he was smiling gently, eyes meeting his own gaze in the reflection of an all too familiar mirror. “It doesn’t matter anymore anyway. No one can trap me in here ever again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a headcanon about the mirror Aaravos was trapped in that I will dive into more in later prompts.
> 
> Once again, didn’t expect this to be as long as I thought, and wrote while listening to Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”. Give it a listen, it’s great to write angst to.


	3. Coffee

“What is this?”

Aaravos raised an eyebrow at the small cup Viren handed him, sloshing the dark liquid in suspicion. It was pleasantly warm in his hand, taking away from the cool morning they spend outside his dilapidated cabin. He was starting to fix up his overgrown garden, going from the outside in. He could easily clean the entire place and rebuild it with a snap of his fingers and a bit of magic, but he wanted to get his hands dirty, and he wasn’t ready to go back inside yet; with that glistening mirror mocking him and his anxieties.

“It’s called “Hot Brown Morning Potion”,” Viren took a sip of his own cup, leaning against the side of the cabin, eyes half lidded in bliss of the cold air and warm, soothing drink heating up his body. “Claudia made it, try it.”

Aaravos sniffed at it curiously, ears wiggling in interest, Viren suppressing a laugh at the feline like attitude the elf showed towards many things. It was even more heightened with silver locks pulled up into a high pony tail, small braids looping from forehead and tucked nearly behind his ears. He was breathtaking, guard let down and letting his true nature show for Viren, and only Viren to see. He definitely let the laugh out when Aaravos crinkled his nose in disgust at the taste and dumped it to the side of him, setting the cup down and continued to pull at the weeds in the garden.

“It’s too bitter,” Aaravos licked his lips and frowned, the warmth of the drink felt nice, but it was missing something. A liquid that dark would only ever hold an unpleasant taste for some, he would have to fix it. “Next time add some cream and sugar to it, I think it’ll taste much, much better that way.”

Next time, Viren would do just that, and his heart would flutter at the ear to ear grin Aaravos would give him, and he would return that grin when he could taste the sweetness of the sugar on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and sweet, and hinting slightly at that head canon I mentioned in the last prompt


	4. Tears

“Here.”

They were sitting in silence below a tree when a slice of something was handed to him, eyebrow raised in curiosity at the red and pale white piece of food that moments ago Viren had cut up, still chewing his own slice he took. Aaravos sniffed at it, then shrugged, and took a bite. It was sweet, and crisper than the autumn wind that blew in the evening air, honey gold eyes widening at the familiar taste.

“Is this...”

Manners gone out the window, Aaravos popped the rest of the slice in his mouth, moaning out in bliss as the flavor hit his senses full force. It was exactly as he thought, he hadn’t eaten an apple in centuries, the last time a human-much like Viren himself-handed him the full fruit and they chatted briefly, warm smiles shared between them. He cherished the memory and chased after that feeling of blind friendliness, itching at the scratch of experiencing it once more. 

All these years had passed, and finally, he felt it again. It overwhelmed him, the nostalgia and sorrow he felt for years crashing down on him without mercy. He felt the sting of tears at the corner of his eyes, letting those tears fall freely when he took another slice of the apple. 

“Aaravos?”

Viren stepped forward, eyebrows raised in interest and concern, watching this being openly cry and rub at his eyes. He felt awkward, not used to others doing this in front of him, and he helped when he was pulled into a bone crushing hug. He could feel Aaravos trembling, his face buried into his shoulder, breathing trembling.

“I haven’t had an apple in so many years,” Aaravos sniffled and raised his head slightly, bumping it up onto Viren’s chin. Viren took the cue and pushed snowy locks away from Aaravos’s forehead, and kissed at the brightest star settled right below his hairline. He received a purr in return, and started laughing when the elf reached out blindly for the rest of the fruit. He handed it to him as they separated from their embrace, Aaravos munching happily on his treat, his tears flowing freely down his cheeks, leaving his sparkling freckles shimmering brightly.

Viren smile warmly at Aaravos and entwined their hands together, rubbing his tumb on top of the elf’s hand. They sat in silence once more; listening to their sounds of the earth around them, both content as Aaravos ate his cherished, and nearly forgotten snack.


	5. Argument

“Humans are such an irresponsible species...”

The voice ticked, it’s tone taking that of scolding a child, when the reality was Aaravos tending to Viren’s various cuts and scrapes from testing spells, spells that he wasn’t supposed to preform without the help of the arch mage. He hissed at the alcohol that dapped at a particularly deep cut along his collar, cheeks heating up at the fact that he was shirtless, feeling self conscious. Aaravos paid no mind to his discomfort, instead putting extra, unneeded pressure to the cut, letting the burning sensation persist longer than it needed to me.

“I suppose an “I’m sorry” is in order?”

Viren wouldn’t look Aaravos in the eyes, knowing very well that the second he met those endless pools of gold, he’d feel even more guilty than he already did. He had been told over and over again not to do any of the dark spells from the elf’s personal writings without assistance, but instead he became impatient waiting for instructions and proper pronunciation, going forth with a spell that supposedly would allow him to control vines and other plant life. Instead, it blew up in his face and sent him back with a force that caused him to dent the wall. Aaravos laughed at the predicament at first, giggles instantly dying once he saw just what Viren was up to.

“You apologize too much and don’t mean what you’re saying if you do it again,” Moving to another cut, Aaravos let the disinfectant seep into the wound and Viren squirmed uncomfortably on the chair. “Stop doing things I specifically tell you not to do. Worst than a child in your behavior.”

“Can you blame me for wanting to learn?”

Viren finally took a peek at Aaravos, feeling his sweat run cold at the darkened edges of his eyes. He was definitely angry, biting back on his emotions, but he looked...exhausted as well. Exhausted over what, he couldn’t quite place, but he instantly regretted speaking, eyes casting downwards once more as four digit hands placed the first aid kit to the side and fell limp in his lap.

“You don’t understand how dangerous it is to do these spells by yourself do you?”

Teeth bared, eyes squinted with a newfound vexation, brows slanted downwards. He pulled gently at his robes, hands balling into the fabric and rubbing at the silk, a nervous habit Viren noticed shortly after the elf was released from his prison.

“I will know if you teach me.”

“I don’t think you’re ready for them yet.

“I’m not ready?” Viren growled, shocked at the tone of Aaravos’s voice. What did he mean, “not ready”? They spent every waking moment together, hours curled up with scrolls and books, demonstrations on other spells shown and mastered in such a short amount of time. Viren found that he was completely capable of preforming these spells, why should Aaravos stand in his way? “I think it’s about time you taught me these specific spells; it could really hel-“

“I don’t want to hear another word of this!”

Aaravos stood, form rigid, hands worrying at the fabric of his robes, his gaze looking directly in front of him but not truly focusing on anything at all. His mouth formed in a tight line, teeth clenched together almost painfully. Viren was stubborn to a fault, more so than any other human he had contact with. 

“Why not? Why won’t you listen to me?”

“I don’t have to give you a reason for my decision,” Aaravos snapped, leering down at the mage, arms stiff at his sides, hands balled into tight fists. He didn’t have time for this, and he most definitely didn’t want to talk any longer about the matter, it had started to cause an uncomfortable lurching in his belly, nausea wanting to take over. He wasn’t ready for another student, not after the last one he had many, many years ago. 

He left Viren to tend to the rest of his wounds, and awkward silence filling the room for the rest of the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Viren is stubborn as hell, and Aaravos is annoyed with him.


	6. Silence

Viren pissed off Aaravos big time.

Since his little stunt the other day, the arch mage refused to speak to him, hell, he refused to even look in Viren’s direction. Aaravos went as far as reorganizing the books in his study, ones that dare not be read by prying eyes moved to a much higher shelf, spell casted so they were unreadable if Viren dared to take a peek at them again without his permission.

So Viren decided himself that he would do the same. A game of spite between two middle aged (is Aaravos even considered middle aged?) beings acting like children in a school yard squabble, waiting for one to come crawling back to the other with some form of an apology. The mage would take glances at the other to see if he was doing the same, but he held his ground. Stubborn, fueled by a punishment that was starting to drive Viren mad.

It took another three days of eating in separate rooms, sleeping in the chair and waking up extremely sore for Viren to knock at the bedroom door softly, waiting for some sort of response. Unsurprisingly, he received nothing in return. He couldn’t see on the other side of that door Aaravos perking at the sound, ears drooping and squinting at the wood, mouth pressed into a firm line. Book laying in his lap, hands folded neatly on top of it.

“Aaravos,” More knocking, louder this time. He could hear the exasperated sigh and the soft thump of Viren’s forehead resting on the door. Closing the book and setting it to the nightstand at his right, Aaravos listened closely, waiting for the mage to continue. 

“Aaravos please...just talk to me, say something, anything!” Viren’s voice raised, guilt clear in his tone, desperate to hear that voice. “Look, I’m sorry I read your writings, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you told me I can’t do them by myself.”

Aaravos hmph’d at that and crawled out of bed, tip toeing to the door and leaning against it, hoping Viren could feel the added weight. He traced the swirled patterns with his fingers until he reached the doorknob, and jiggled it. He could feel the air change from the other party.

“...I miss hearing your voice, I want you to teach me those spells properly,” Viren gabbed at the other knob and turned it, seeming to wait for permission to push it open. “I just want you, it’s lonely not being with you.”

He felt the tug of the door and fell forward, fully expecting to fall flat on his face in front of the elf. Instead, he was scooped up by his underarms and pulled up, toes of his boot barely scraping the floor. Instantly Viren blushed, then yelped when he was lifted even higher in the air, strong, yet thin arms wrapped around his waist. He put a hand on Aaravos’s shoulder to keep himself from falling forward again, eyes bewildered at how easily he could be lifted.

“Do you promise?”

“Huh?”

Shocked at the melody of Aaravos’s voice, Viren tilted his head to the side, brow raised, almost trying to look threatening even though he was dangling a solid foot off the ground. He was shifted in the elf’s hold, arms cradling his backside, fingers softly digging into the fabric of his pants. 

“I said,” Aaravos crinkled his nose and flicked his ears in annoyance, almost tempted to drop Viren to the ground and leave him there. He thought better on that however. “When it comes to my writings on dark magic, you’ll wait for my help to preform spells?”

Viren sighed again, but smiled softly to Aaravos. The hand that wasn’t resting on his should cupped at a freckled cheek, rubbing the three large stars lovingly. He leaned in to peck at the elf’s lips, then rubbed their noses together, smile turning into a goofy grin.

“Only if you keep talking to me.”


	7. Blood

The heavy scent of nicotine flooded his senses, making his eyes water and nose scrunch up in disgust. He heard the pleased sigh and gentle tapping of a cigarette, window opened a crack, letting in the warm air of a summer night, the last slivers of daylight way off in the horizon, stars just starting to twinkle out into the greenish blue hue of the sky. Leaned against the window frame, hand with the cigarette held far enough away from a dark cloak trimmed in gold, other hand rubbing strands of silver between fingers, eyes of crimson staring in boredom. It was as if this being was completely unaware of Viren’s presence, or didn’t bother to acknowledge him when he entered the room.

“Huh, I never took you for a smoker,” Viren took to his chair not too far from the window and sat down, position casual, one leg folded over the other and resting his cheek on his hand. “Are you finally “getting with the times”, Aaravos?”

Bathed by moonlight, Aaravos lifted his gaze briefly, then went back to his cigarette, finishing it off with a long puff and snuffing it out on the windowsill and flicking it out onto the damp grass below. Viren shot him a look, eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open slightly, clearly offended. In return he received a grin, pointed fangs glinting in the light.

“To think I have to settle for this when just a few years ago I was smoking cocaine,” He laughed into his hand at the even more offended gaze Viren held, brows now furrowed in disgust, silver eyes squinting to over exaggerate his point. With his little laughing fit done, Aaravos waved his hand to dismiss the look, and rolled his eyes. “Oh come now, your people still do it all the time, their blood always has a tinge of sweetness to it.”

“The only people I see doing it are mobsters and their handymen.”

Viren was sitting up in his chair now, glaring over in Aaravos’s direction, keeping a mindful eye as to how his body was scanned up and down in a lazy, yet lustful manner. He didn’t trust the vampire as far as he could throw him, and with a good four inch height difference between them he knew he would fall submissive. Glued onto his every move, Aaravos was watched, nearly gliding right onto Viren’s lap, the other grunting at the sudden weight forced on him. Cloak shrouding around both of them as the vampire made himself comfortable, ears wiggling in mischief.

Aaravos combing his fingers through Viren’s hair, scratching at his scalp in the most wonderful of ways. The man found himself groaning in pleasure from the attention, a muffled gasp of surprise escaping him when Aaravos took that chance to cover Viren’s mouth with his, tongue sneaking in to trace at teeth and the other, eager pink appendage. Arms found their way around a skinny waist, thumbs digging into hips and rubbing circles, cause the vampire to arch into the kiss and nip at the other’s lip.

“-!”

Viren felt his blood run cold, eyes wide in a new found fear when he felt his lip pierce from those sharp fangs and a tongue lapping at the liquid that oozed out of the hole. It was the smell that Aaravos noticed first, eyes glinting a dangerous shade of red when he took the first lick of blood. His entire body burst out in gooseflesh, constellations and unknown galaxies lighting up on his skin, instantly moaning into Viren’s mouth as he milked the wound for all its worth.

“That’s, that’s quite enough!”

Viren pushed Aaravos away from him, cheeks dark pink, hand touching at the small bite he was given. His lips were swollen, and eyes casting murder towards the vampire, who in return had his own blush, if only for a moment, before a sly grin from ear to ear formed, and in the richest, deepest voice, came a playful sing song to make Viren stop dead in his tracks.

“Mm, I knew that sweetness anywhere,” Aaravos, fully composed, swept a finger in the wound and licked at the blood that pooled out of the hole, attempting to scab over. He shuddered in delight, and lowered himself to a pale neck, teeth grazing at a pulse line and making Viren quiver. 

“So tell me, are you a handyman, or are you the Boss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, not sober: Thinking about Mobster Leader!Viren and Vampire!Aaravos in the 1920s because I specifically wanted to write Aaravos saying “I used to smoke cocaine”


	8. Drunk

Glass filled half way with a dark crimson liquid, swirling around and sloshing inside, some drops dripping over the rim and cascading down onto speckled fingers. A curious mouth licks at it, mouth twisting up in what looked to be disgusted curiosity. 

“It’s tart, isn’t there something that’s a bit...sweeter?”

They sat across from each other on a small table, Aaravos nudging his leg between Viren’s, rubbing his foot up the fabric of the mage’s pants, an innocent habit he picked up and didn’t even notice he did. Viren chuckled and sipped from his own glass, letting the bitterness of his wine flood he senses and let him relax more into his seat.

“This is a vintage wine that I saved for a special occasion,” He motioned with a nod of his head for the elf to sip his drink, waiting patiently for a better reaction. “I’ve even heard that a glass or two every once in a while is good for you. Now drink it.”

——

Viren watched in disbelief as Aaravos only drank two glasses of wine and was struggling to get out of his chair, body swaying as he got to his feet. His eyes held a gaze on intoxication, squinting at the corners with a waggish air to him. He was smiling, a sleepy but very happy smile, tongue poking out and stained crimson from the wine.

“I figured you’d have a higher tolerance to something a simple as wine.” Viren laughed, making his way over to the elf and supporting him so he wouldn’t fall over. Such a large creature would make a terrible amount of noise if he fell, and Viren wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to get him off the ground. 

“Xadian alcohols are much less...potent than that of humans,” Aaravos snorted, Viren feeling his cheeks heat up at the sound, his heart fluttering out of his chest at how comfortable they were with each other. “We value our internal organs from damage, unlike your kind.”

“Ah yes, my kind is reckless, unlike your’s.”

Voice laced with sarcasm, Viren grinned when Aaravos barked out a laugh, it extending into a fit of giggling, body staggering backwards, the mage having to lead him to the edge of the bed as to not hit the floor. He gasped out, pleased when he felt the plushness of the mattress hit his back, a dreamy look on his face. He reached out his arms, sluggish, demanding that Viren join him.

“You are too much,” Viren shook his head and gathered the elf in his arms, hand instantly going into hair as white as snow, fingers teasing the tip of an ear in the process. Aaravos whined at the touch, pushing away from the mage, instead exposing his neck in the process. Taking full advantage of the skin bared, Viren kissed and nipped at it, grinning when he felt the other quivering. 

“You like don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Aaravos gasped when a particularly sensitive spot was bitten, squirming slightly when his hands were grabbed at pulled above his head. Hair splayed out on the mattress, eyes holding a drinking gaze, cheeks taking an almost bluish tint as the pink of the blush mixed wonderfully with his lavender skin. “I only like it when you do these things to me.”

It was Viren’s turn to blush, lips pursing in an embarrassed pout, quickly forming into a sly smirk. He sucked in some air, Aaravos watching curiously as his cheeks puffed out, and yelled when they pressed down on his neck and blew down. He started bucking, hands tugging in the not at all tight grip they were held in, and snickered, feeling pleasantly tingly and dizzy. He huffed out, groaning and twisted his body, successfully getting his hands freed, and grabbed Viren by his face, pulling him in close for a kiss.

He could taste the wine on his tongue, shivering in excitement when Viren climbed on top of his, hands roaming up and down speckled skin, fingers dancing across the large star that glowed brightly on Aaravos’s chest. Brows shot up in interest, and when cold lips pressed onto it the elf felt his entire body shudder involuntarily, breathing heavier than he had realized. Viren lifted his body up and tucked stray hairs behind Aaravos’s ear, thumb rubbing across the freckles on his cheek, complete and total admiration making itself known in the next kiss he laid on a mouth that hadn’t lost it’s silly grin.

“You’re something special,” Viren rubbed their noses together, Aaravos wiggling in delight at the attention focused on him. He interlocked their fingers together and kissed at each of the mage’s knuckles, eyes gazing at him with such an intense expression Viren couldn’t even form the correct words to match just how he felt. So instead, he kissed at the star right on Aaravos’s forehead, and rested against him.

“You truly are the brightest star in my sky.”


	9. Walk

The way one walks can show how they truly are as a person. Can they be approached without fear? Is their stride long and slow, or short paced and fast? Do they enter a room loudly, feet stomping onto the floor, or are they quiet, almost to the point where someone doesn’t even notice they are even there until they speak? 

Viren was not a man of grace. Stepping into a room he makes sure he can be heard, from the thumping of his boots to the metallic clinking or his staff, his steps heavy anywhere he went. He held an air of high authority that make those so much younger and immature exchange looks of either respect, or of mocking sneers. Not that either of these gazes bothered him, Viren kept walking in his long strides with his head held high, and his ego held even higher.

Aaravos was the exact opposite. Someone as large as him, at first glance makes anyone around him cower back, their nerves making them sweat and fidget in place, wondering just what he has planned for them. And yet, he walks with complete and total elegance, feet barely scrapping the ground as he made his way across the room. He must have been a sort of dancer before imprisonment, when clad in slippers or bare feet, his heels never hit the ground, long legs extending in ways that made Viren’s head spin.

Somehow, their strides met one another in a perfect harmony, messy and loud with graceful and soft, passing each other with playful and gentle touches. Viren at different points of the day walking with a bit more pep in his step, heels of his shoes lifting ever so slightly off the ground, stomping settling to soft thudding. Aaravos was starting to rub off on him, he realized one night when they joined together in a dance, steps in sync with one another, a mirror image that was so familiar but held so many mysteries for Viren to solve.

And no matter how long it took, he would figure them all out, with the help of an endless galaxy twirling and molding to his form, side stepping around him with sophistication and high-spirited charm that would make even the most respected of royalty quiver in their shoes.


	10. Cat

The door to his home was kicked open carelessly, both parties not having a care in the world if it was damaged or not. Sounds of kissing echoed in the room, buttons and ties being undone effortlessly and tossed to the side to be found at a later time, and soon more clothing followed suit. Gasps at skin grabbed and rubbed in such a way had knees buckling, the bedroom door finally opened and a body being thrown onto the bed, it sinking into the mattress with a giggle.

“How forceful, I like that in a man,” Aaravos held himself up with his elbows and giggled once more when Viren crawled on top of him, kissing at any exposed skin he could get to. He tilted his neck to the side, letting the other man have access to his neck and shoulder, arms wrapping around Viren’s shoulders and pushing his dress shirt off his body, grinning like mad at the softness he held. Chest decorated with hair, stomach protruding and sagging with age, something Aaravos found himself shamelessly attracted to. He found his hands pinching and tickling at the skin, Viren laughing into his neck from the sensation.

“I wouldn’t get so bold if I were you,” It was Viren’s turn to and tease, one hand trailing up a flat belly and dancing on ribs, tracing them and grinning when Aaravos arched away from him, choking on his voice and whining. “I know every one of your spots, and it looks like you’re provoking me to make you scream.”

“Naughty,” Aaravos grabbed Viren’s wrists and flipped them so the mage was staring up at him, holding both wrists down above his head. He cocked his head to the side, hair messy and covering most of his eyes, their golden hues twinkling in mischief. “Maybe it’s you who should be screaming.”

They kissed with feverish intent, torsos completely bare and pants making their way off, Viren moaning loudly when Aaravos’s tongue made its way in his mouth, licking at his teeth and meeting with his own tongue. He let his eyes slip shut for a moment, and sighed out when lips met his neck and kissed their way down to his collar bone. Viren side eyed the room, freezing when he met large, dilated green eyes staring him down with the upmost interest. 

“Have you lost your nerve?” Aaravos bit at Viren’s throat, raising a brow when he didn’t receive any type of response. He lifted his head and was about to pout when he noticed eyes were not on him but towards his left. He shot the mage a look and followed his eyes to the bedside table, black and white fur taking the form of a purring, overweight cat. 

“I never knew you had a cat?”

“I actually have four,” Aaravos shooed the feline off the table, earning a protest in the form of a pathetic meow. It stayed off long enough for the elf to turn back to Viren and kiss him again, before the thunking of it getting back on the table and resuming its intense stare down. Aaravos let out a sigh and took to a much more casual, although annoyed, position of sitting on Viren’s lap. “You have the pleasure of meeting Coco, my most affectionate...and persistent cat.”

“Coco?”

Viren snorted at the silly name, the cat taking this as a cue to jump onto the bed and mercilessly walk over his stomach, earning an “oof” in response. It kneaded the comforter near his head, and laid down, purring once more, a paw gently patting Viren’s shoulder for attention. He shrugged and scratched its chin, the cat lifting its face for more. It’s eyes slipped shut, ears relaxing, happy with this new person automatically giving it what it wanted.

“Be careful, you keep that up and she’ll never leave you alone,” Aaravos rolled his eyes and idly played with a few fly away strands of hair, the heat he felt just a moment ago from their activities dimming down. He shivered and fixed his hair, opting to put it up in a high ponytail. He heard the audible gulp from Viren when his entire torso was exposed and grinned at how the smallest of actions could get him riled up again.

“Now, how about we have a more...formal introduction to my kitties later?”

A simple nod and Aaravos picked up Coco, the poor creature squeaking in another protest as she was shooed out of the room completely, a defeated trilling sounding off as she watched the door be closed, and locked, in front of her. She stayed there for a few moments, meowing incessantly and pawing at the door, muffled laughter coming from the other side. When she realized she wasn’t going to get anymore attention for quite a while, she wobbled off, choosing Aaravos’s favorite chair to sleep in until him and Viren emerged at a much later time.


	11. Play

He was bored, completely and utterly bored out of his skull. The room was pleasantly warm, the fire crackling and humming in the background, and outside it poured, the rain pelting at the windows, the atmosphere settling him into his seat in a cozy embrace. But he was still bored, eyes straining at the chess board in front of him, black and white checkers molding into each other, and he barely noticed the clacking of a rook, being replaced by a pawn. He stifled a yawn and idly fiddled with his queen, his eyes started to droop, the warmth of the room threatening to lull him to sleep.

“Are you not enjoying yourself?”

Aaravos snapped his eyes wide at the sound of Viren’s voice, it felt like an eternity since he last heard him speak. They had been playing this round of chess for the past twenty minutes, something they both usually enjoyed and would find themselves setting up the board quite frequently, but today the elf wasn’t feeling it. He did lazily push the queen to the upper left corner of the board to a black square along side with a knight and pawn, resting his hands on his chin, and could feel himself wanting to drift off again.

“Aaravos?”

He glanced at Viren with a sleepy grin , eyes focusing on pursed lips. He could tell the mage was getting a bit annoyed with his lack of enthusiasm for their game, but he couldn’t help it. He let his eyes rake down Viren’s body, pointed canine biting gently at his bottom lip when he took notice of the first two buttons of the mage’s shirt being undone, the hints of chest hair peeking out and pale skin glistening with sweat from the heat of the room. How Aaravos want to pull him close to him and bite down into that skin, tasting the salt of sweat and the tinges of blood as his teeth would puncture and allow the metallic liquid to ooze out from the indents.

“Are you paying attention?”

“Hmm...Oh,” Aaravos snapped out of his daydream just before it got to the good part, his finger still holding the queen in place. He blinked a few times and let go of it, now going for the bishop he had taken from Viren just a few moments prior. “Checkmate.”

“Checkmate! Already?” Viren squinted at the board, his king nestled at the last space in the left corner, Aaravos’s queen looming over it and a few spaces over the knight sat, ready for the attack. But the true culprit of his situation was the pawn, small in size but could pack a major punch to his thin defenses. He was foolish to let that bishop be taken, leaving his king unable to run away, every move he tried to make he found himself constantly back at that checkmate, aggravating him to his core. “Did you cheat or something?”

“Love, I don’t cheat,” Aaravos found his body moving on its own, he practically crawled up onto the table, various chess pieces falling to the floor or on the wood, clattering loud enough to catch the attention of one of the elf’s various cats. This one was small, orange and soft to the touch, she snuck under the table and started to paw at the piece, soon to be forgotten and taken to the special place where she hides everything else that both mage and elf be on a search for, lost to them for days or even weeks.

Aaravos held himself up with an arm, watching Viren flush when he walked his fingers up his arm, scooting himself closer to his body, feeling his breath on his face. The finger walking ended with Aaravos tipping Viren’s chin up and to the side, lips kissing gentle at his cheek, nosing into him with a content purr.

“I’m finding myself bored with chess at the moment,” Aaravos rubbed their noses together and sighed. He ran a hand through short brown hair, taking the opportunity of Viren leaning into the touch to press their lips together, the kiss slow and sensual. His mind was wandering elsewhere at this point, back to the sweaty skin, back to bite marks and adorable, yet silly sounds, and back to facial expressions that make him tingle all over. 

He grinned against Viren’s lips when the mage pulled him in closer, the elf now at the edge of the table. If he was to move any closer he would fall into an eager lap. He moaned into his mouth, body going through the motions of undressing Aaravos, robes coming off his shoulders and pooling at his elbows. Stars twinkled on his shoulders, and Viren found himself kissing tenderly at each and every one of them, then moved to Aaravos’s throat and traveled up to his chin, watching the blush rise to grayish blue cheeks. He took the cue to stand and tugged at his hand, allowing the elf to tower over him. He took that hand in his own and kissed from his palm to his fingers, teasing the tips with his tongue, broad smile stretching over his lips when he felt shivering. 

“How about,” Aaravos fought back the quiver in his voice from the attention he was receiving, and pushed himself close to an impossibly warm body, bending slightly to whisper into the mage’s ear. He chuckled when Viren tensed briefly before relaxing into wandering hands, and voice came out with a high air of confidence. 

“How about we play a game that has more...physical participation.”


	12. Laughter

Viren woke up alone.

Just a few hours prior he had a slumbering elf curled up against him impossibly close, the softness and warmth of speckled skin pulling him into the best sleep of his life. Now, he woke up cold, the thick, gelatinous substance that coated Aaravos’s body drying uncomfortably against his bare chest, with the elf to be no where to be found. If he was outside, he would be an easy target, still weak from his metamorphosis.

“Where is that damn elf?”

The anxiety of leaving the comfort of the cave chased Viren and tried to bite at his heels as limped his way to the welcoming, yet terrifying site of the outside world. The sun warmed his torso, but he didn’t have time to enjoy it, he needed to find Aaravos and drag him back into the cave if he absolutely had to. His mind was buzzing, too many thoughts going through him at once, he was dizzy from not moving and not taking proper care of his body. He leaned against the wall of the entrance, breathing slightly labored, cheeks flushed with a mixture of over exertion and embarrassment. Viren pushed himself off the wall and let out a small yelp when his leg gave out and he crumbled pathetically to the ground, hands clutching at his knee and hissing in pain. He was so frustrated with himself, he felt so weak and helpless.

And then he heard something that made all his troubles melt away.

It was in the distance, there were two voices, Viren realized was Claudia and Aaravos. His daughter was talking too fast, obviously very, very excited about something that the elf didn’t understand as they were walking towards him. Aaravos was laughing, absolutely tickled pink at her enthusiasm. His eyes were squinted, smile lines prominent, white teeth on full display, Viren finding himself blushing furiously when he saw pointed canines practically glinting in the sunlight. The laughter got even louder when Claudia tapped her nose and pointed, and Aaravos snorted when he mimicked it back to her. Viren felt his face burning, he had heard giggling and laughter from the elf before, but that was more menacing, this, this was genuine and full of a joy that Viren wanted to be on the receiving end on.

“Oh, oh Dad!”

Viren snapped out of his stupor when Claudia ran to him and knelt on the ground, brows shot up in worry when she saw he was still holding his knee, and his cheeks aflame with a blush redder than the freshest of roses. Aaravos followed suit, the laughter he graced them all with gone, face neutral and frankly, unreadable.

“Dad? Are you ok?”

Viren blinked once towards Claudia, then blinked up at the offered hand above them both and took it without a word. He bit back a whine when he was pulled up effortlessly and his knee buckled and with a complete lack of grace Viren fell face first into Aaravos’s chest. He mumbled something incoherent into the fabric of the tattered robe he had been wearing not too long ago.

“What’s the matter Viren? Did you just learn how to walk?” 

Aaravos laughed again when Viren looked up at him like a kicked puppy and patted him on the head, relishing in the texture of his unkept hair. The sound sent a shiver down the mage’s spine, and he couldn’t help but hide his face in his chest once more. That wonderful sound came out of the elf once more, and Viren knew that he was definitely going to be more than ok.


	13. Sleep

Viren has always been an early riser. Eyes snapping open at the first licks of sunlight through the bedroom window, he rose from the comfort of his sheets with a long stretch, groaning when he felt various areas of his body pop, and shuffled into his slippers before making his way into the bathroom. He would take a long soak in the tub, water steaming and relaxing his aching muscles, the air filled with the smell of wild flowers and the sweetest of strawberries. After his bath he would dress quickly and run a towel through his hair, letting it dry the rest of the way with a snap of his fingers and just the smallest hints of dark magic. By the time he returned to the bedroom with a cup of Hot Brown Morning Potion in one hand and a jelly tart in the other, the other body in his bed was still snuggled up in the blankets, audible snoring away and was in no way waking up before early afternoon.

“Aaravos.”

His voice was loud enough that the elf made some strange noise that sounded like a mix of a grunt and a sneeze, but he turned over and buried himself deeper into the sheets, covered up where Viren could only see the top of his head and horns. He found out very quickly that Aaravos adored sleeping in, and stated many times that it was his other favorite bedroom activity. He would say this with a mischievous grin and wink, successfully making the mage flustered and unable to make a witty comeback. Viren also found out that the elf could he quite the brat when it came to actually physically getting out of bed, pushing him away and grumbling that he wasn’t ready to start the day yet. Viren would roll his eyes at his childishness, and pull the sheets away from his lanky form, watching in amusement when Aaravos would curl up, whining that it was too cold to do such rude things to him. If all else failed to get him out of bed, Viren would kiss him on the forehead, giving Aaravos the the idea that he would walk away, and then tickle him until he fell out of bed.

“Aaravos, you stopped snoring,” Viren sat on the bed and patted at a blanket covered head, smiling gently when the elf shifted and pulled the sheets away from his face, eyes bleary and mouth turned up into a pout. Viren offered him his jelly tart, which he took, slightly suspicious, before sitting up and taking a bite. “There we go, now, it’s time to wake up.”

“Mm, what time is it?”

Viren glanced over to the old clock on the nightstand and took a small sip of his drink, licking his lips in satisfaction of the taste. He sat for a few seconds, enjoying the sensation of the drink warming his body and settling comfortably in his belly.

“It’s half past ten,” Without even thinking, Viren set his cup down and picked up the brush settled next to the clock, and began to brush through messy white hair. He started from the bottom to get the tangles out, and continued upwards, being mindful of pointed ears and then horns. How Aaravos didn’t rip the pillows or sheets with those things is beyond him, but he was thankful he didn’t have to replace them as often as he thought. “Half past ten basically means you wasted a good part of the day in my book.”

“That’s because you don’t like to enjoy being lazy,” Aaravos finished the tart and licked his fingers before stretching, letting out a pleased hum when his back cracked in just the right way. “When your as old as me, and have lived as long as me for that matter, you can have the luxury of wasting an entire day.”

“Well, unlike you, I actually have a job to do,” Viren set the brush down and pinched Aarvaos’s nose between his fingers, grinning when he received a gawk in return. He then let go of him and kissed him gently on the lips, both letting out content sighs at the new contact of the day. Viren stood and grabbed his mug once again, and motioned for the elf to get up as well.

“Now, why don’t you take a bath, and enjoy what we have left of the day together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love to write sweet stuff


	14. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m kinda a helpless romantic
> 
> Written to: City on the Messa (Onwards to Meridian) -Horizon Zero Dawn Original Soundtrack

He found him in the pouring rain.

It had been mid morning, Viren took Aaravos’s advice on spending an entire day in bed together, sharing playful touches and whispers of sweet nothings, soon dozing off into a pleasantly light slumber. Viren was woken up by the sound of thunder booming, the noise rattling the windows of their room, startling him rightly so. He jolted up, murmuring a spell that cause small flicks of fire to form at his fingertips, and snapped them, the flames licking up candles to light the room better. He scanned the room, listening to the pellets of rain on the windows, and further down the unmistakable sound of the bottom of the street flooding. He groaned and rubbed his face at this, no way was he going to be able to get out of the house and into town if he needed to get any supplies for supper that night. 

“Looks like you get your way, we can stay in bed all day with this weather.”

Viren looked to his left, brows shooting up in shock when the body of Aaravos wasn’t curled up in a nest of blankets, smiling up at him with half lidded eyes, cheeks dusted pink and freckles twinkling. Complete and total infatuation with the mage. It made him feel good...it made him feel wanted.

“Ugh,” Viren dragged himself out of bed and tied on a robe, shoved his feet in his slippers and made his way to the front door. He whipped it open and stepped outside, shuddering when the rain pelted his body and started to soak through his robe in a matter of minutes. He cupped his hands, and called out, voice a mixture of concern, and annoyance.

“Aaravos!”

“You don’t have to yell, I’m right here.”

Viren jumped at the low rumble of Aaravos’s voice, turning in his direction to see that the elf was soaked to the bone. Hair plastered to his skin, robes clinging to him and putting his full physic on display, Viren mentally scolding himself for staring, heat growing on his face. He took a deep breath and sighed, sitting down on the bench the elf sat on when he was motioned to accompany him. He gave Aaravos a disapproving frown, and pushed a stand of hair covering his face, so he could see those brilliantly golden honey eyes. He was squinting, smile lines forming lightly at the corner of them, and he was smiling, ears flicking water off of them and tinting pink from the cold.

“Aaravos, what are you even doing out here?” Viren asked.

“When I was in that prison, there was no weather,” Aaravos began, turning away from the mage to look up at the sky, its clouds a mix of dark blues and grays, thunder rumbling further south from their position. “It was the same setting every day, artificial light and heat, the land on the outside a mere illusion. The grass doesn’t feel like it does here, the light warming me to my core, the rays of the sun setting fire to my soul.

Aaravos let out a chuckle, without words he tapped the top of Viren’s hand that rested close to his, and he allowed the elf to grasp him, his thumb rubbing at his skin, goosebumps forming up his arms, not only from the cold dampness of his robe but from the small, loving action that became second nature. Viren shivered and licked his lips and grabbed the four digit hand. He lifted it to his mouth and he massaged it with both hands, and left soft kisses along his fingers, grinning at the trembling from the elf.

“R-rain,” Aaravos stuttered when Viren gently wrapped his lips around a finger and sucked, tongue teasing and tracing. “Rain was something I missed the most. I missed feeling it on my skin, how it could be warm or cold depending on the season, and how it could lull me to sleep on the nights I found myself plagued by my own thoughts.”

“When I was in that prison, I started to forget what it was like, so I would paint any kind of landscape with rain in it,” Aaravos whined when he felt teeth nibbling his fingers and pulled his hand away from a smug mouth, setting it in his lap as if to protect it from further welcoming, but inappropriate touches. “I would even cast small spells from memory of its sounds.”

The smile faltered, Aaravos bringing his arms up to hug lightly at his body, nails digging into the fabric of his robes. His eyes cast down to the ground, to his bare feet tapping idly in a puddle that had been forming. He had shivered, from being out in the cold rain, or from a bad memory, Viren couldn’t tell. It could’ve been a mixture of both, from how the elf’s shoulders still shook, to the far off, lost stare, looking off into something entirely different, sucking him in a form of reality that wasn’t real, and never would be. The mage would make sure of that.

“Aaravos,” Viren started, he pushed himself off the bench and kneeled in front of the elf, nose turning up in disgust when the puddle thoroughly seeped through his cotton sleep pants and splashed into his slippers. “Wherever you’re putting yourself into, it doesn’t have swallow you whole. The memories of this place will fade within time.”

“Memories play like stories, sometimes they don’t feel real,” Aaravos allowed Viren to rub the tops of his thighs, sucking in a trembling breath when nails scraped in a soothing up and down motion, his skin sensitive from the pleasant touches. “And sometimes they feel so real that I’m living them all over again.”

“Then, let me make new memories with you,” Viren stood tall, offering an outstretched palm for Aaravos to take, once again allowing the mage to pull him up, one of his hands brushing his bangs away from his eyes again, traveling to play with his ear, then to caress at his cheek. “We’ll make more than you can count, and it will make you forget about darker times.”

Aaravos smiled, soft and loving, eyes drooping, his cheeks rosy, freckles blooming in a glow of happiness. That look was what Viren wanted to wake up to, to pull close in his arms, to kiss and love in ways no one else could. And so he snaked his arm around the elf’s waist, bring him flush to his body. The hand caressing the cheek pressed onto the back of a neck and lowered Aaravos to his level. With his own tender smile, Viren kissed Aaravos, lips moving against each other as if murmuring. It lasted for only a few seconds, Aaravos the one to break it and rest his forehead against the mage’s, and they both laughed, their breath mingling together.

“I’d say,” Aaravos begin with snicker. “We both get out of these clothes and spend the rest of the day together where we belong.”

“In bed?”

“In bed.”

And that’s just how the day went, both men wrapped in blankets and nothing else, laughing at stories of their childhood’s, and for what the further would hold for them.


End file.
